SC cancels admission of 180 MBBS students
Irregularities in admission procedures by Kannur and Karuna medical colleges
The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the admission of a total 180 medical undergraduate students in Kannur Medical College and Karuna Medical College in Kerala owing to irregularities in admission procedures.
A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra ordered the termination of 150 admissions in Kannur Medical College and 30 in Karuna Medical College, thus sending a strong message to private professional colleges that there would be zero tolerance if irregularities are found in admissions even at the cost of de-railing the academic future of the students involved.
The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court order of October 2016 invalidating the admissions on the ground that the institutions did not publish the corrected prospectus on their website and were not transparent in furnishing all the details regarding the admissions online.
Documents fabricated
Perusing some of the documents submitted for admission, the Bench indicated that they seem to have been fabricated, thus extinguishing the last vestige of hope for the students involved in the litigation. The Supreme Court even considered directing criminal action to be initiated against the errant management.
The court further ordered that the Karuna college should draw a supplementary admission list of 30 meritorious students named in a report submitted by the State Examination Controller and the Admission Supervisory Committee in the Supreme Court. These students will occupy the vacant 30 seats.
The court dismissed the arguments raised by advocates Shyam Divan and Haris Beeran that termination of the admission of the students would take a heavy toll on their future. The Bench said its order would set a future example for private professional institutions not to indulge in irregularities during admissions.
The court further barred the two medical institutions from re-admitting students to these seats for the academic year of 2016-17.